The technology used by anglers to catch fish has become increasingly complex in nature. Fishermen no longer rely on the traditional hook and worm approach to attract their game. Instead, a broad range of products have hit the market, designed to aid the fisherman to catch more fish in a shorter period of time.
One (1) method for catching more fish over a given time period is to utilize multiple fishing rods simultaneously to increase the likelihood of a fish encountering a lure and bait and biting one (1) of those lines. While there are a multitude of fishing rod holders on the market, they generally require a fisherman to react fast enough to retrieve the rod from the holder to set the hook in time to prevent the fish from getting away.
Various attempts have been made to provide fishing rod holders with hook setting mechanisms. Examples of these attempts can be seen by reference to several U.S. patents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,651, issued in the name of Titze, describes a fishing rod holder and automatic hook setter including a vertical standard support and a tubular sleeve holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,248, issued in the name of Brophy, Sr., et al., describes n automatic hook setting fishing rod holder including a holder arm with a forward portion extending on a side for receiving a handle of a fishing rod.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,113, issued in the name of Pinson, describes a fishing rod holder and hook setting device adaptable for stationary use or trolling.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,001, issued in the name of Coon et al., describes a spring loaded fishing pole holder apparatus including an adjustable latching unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,376, issued in the name of Flisak, describes a fishing rod holder and hook-setter including a safety catch which blocks a latch during setting to protect the fisherman from accidental actuation of the hook setting mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,430,864, issued in the name of Thomure et al., describes an automatic hook set fishing rod holder including an adjustably tension-biased triggering mechanism and a clamp fastening and mounting means.
While these apparatuses fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffer from one (1) or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Many such apparatuses do not provide a desirable range of configurability and safety features for the hook setting mechanism. In addition, many such apparatuses are not adjustable and stabile in a manner suited for use along a variety of surfaces. Furthermore, many such apparatuses are difficult and time consuming to set up. Accordingly, there exists a need for a fishing rod holder with a hook setting mechanism without the disadvantages as described above. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.